European Commission publishes Road Safety Programme 2011-2020

Under the European Road Safety Policy Orientations 2011-2020, the Commission puts forward a range of proposals, from setting higher standards for vehicle safety, to improving the training of road users, and increasing the enforcement of road rules. It says that it will work closely with Member States to implement this programme.

The Road safety action programme 2011-2020 comprises a mix of initiatives focusing on making improvements to vehicles, infrastructure and road users' behaviour.

There are seven strategic objectives:

Improved safety measures for trucks and cars

Building safer roads

Developing intelligent vehicles

Strengthening licensing and training

Better enforcement

Targeting injuries

A new focus on motorcyclists.

Siim Kallas, European Commission vice-president responsible for transport, said: 'A hundred people die everyday on Europe's roads. We have made good progress since 2001 and we have succeeded in saving nearly 80,000 lives. But the number of fatalities and injuries on our roads is still unacceptable. We are looking at what kind of cars motorists drive, where they drive and how they drive and we want to cut road deaths in half by 2020.'

For further details on the specific initiatives, please visit the European Commission website.